The aroma of delicious home-cooked food welcomed Lu Zihao as soon as he entered the condo unit. He closed the door behind him and started taking off his light coat. Long Jinjing came out of the kitchen in an apron while still holding a cooking ladle.
He observed how her expression changed as soon as she saw him. Her smile bloomed like a flower and it made something inside his chest feel ticklish or itchy—that kind of weird sensation.
“You’re here!” Long Jinjing rushed to him and threw her arms around his neck.
He lifted her up and they kissed. There was no hot tongue action but he still sucked on her soft lips, tasting a little of what she was cooking. His mouth immediately salivated for dinner (food) and for dessert (her).
She was about to help him hang his coat but she heard a sizzling sound so off she went back to the kitchen.
“Phew, that was close!” he heard her exclaim.
He didn’t bother hanging his coat and just tossed it on the couch in a careless manner before heading to the kitchen to watch his woman cook. His eyes didn’t miss the array of dishes already presented on the table.
“Dinner is almost ready, Nikolai,” she told him. “You came home earlier than I expected. I hope you don’t mind waiting a few more minutes before we can start eating.”
“Hm, no problem.” He leaned against the wall and crossed his muscled arms over his wide chest while continuing to watch her.
Her words echoed inside his head. She talked as if this place was his home, too. He looked at her tiny place and hmm…it indeed made him feel comfortable enough to lower his guards. Now that he thought about it, he already began looking forward to coming to this place and staying with his woman. He didn’t give a fuck about such a tiny shoebox unit but since his woman lived here, the place was starting to feel a little like home to him.
He didn’t need to wait too long before Long Jinjing finally finished cooking. The table was already set so he only needed to wash his hands and carry the last dish.
They ate a hearty dinner, not really talking much while doing so, because he was too ravenous. He wolfed down all the food while keeping her close to his side. She also ate more than usual, but compared to his large food intake, her portion of the entire meal didn’t even come close to one-fourth of everything. He finished everything, not even leaving a little for leftovers.
Long Jinjing was smiling while watching him finish off the last morsels of food on his plate. “How is it?”
“Delicious.”
Her smile grew wider.
Afterwards, the two of them washed the dishes together. Long Jinjing became teary-eyed because this was the routine that they developed during their one-month relationship before they broke up. Now they were doing it again. She hoped that it would become permanent until they were both old and grey.
Then she started brewing some tea to help digest the heavy food that they ate. Lu Zihao was unwinding on the couch and sipping tea when Long Jinjing remembered something. She ran to her bedroom and came out holding a cardboard paper bag with the stylish brand of the boutique printed on it.
“For you. I didn’t have the time to wrap them nicely because I was too busy cooking dinner.”
Lu Zihao raised an eyebrow but didn’t look too surprised that she was giving him a present. He had already been informed beforehand by both Bacon and Robin that Long Jinjing went shopping at a menswear boutique. Robin didn’t know what she bought but Bacon did. However, Lu Zihao stopped Bacon before the little devil could list the things his aunt bought. Although it was corny and something that he never bothered before, he wanted to be surprised.
“Open it,” Long Jinjing said and sat down beside him twiddling her thumbs. Her nervousness was clear on her face.
He opened the shopping bag and took out the items inside. First was the pair of leather gloves.
“Nice,” he said.
She breathed out a sigh of relief and appeared less nervous.
He took out another item. It was the cowl scarf.
“Just what I need.”
She smiled.
Then he took out the last item—no, two items. There were two belts that looked similar but had different metal buckle designs.
“You got me two?” he asked.
“Oh no!” She gasped and snatched both of the belts.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uhm.” Guilt was written all over her face which raised his suspicions.
“Tell me,” he demanded in a low voice.
In the end, she told him the truth about what happened at the menswear boutique. His expression was hard when she finished speaking. Bacon didn’t mention this part. The little devil only said that René Alejandro struck a conversation with Long Jinjing at the menswear boutique. Perhaps Bacon was about to tell him the whole story but he stopped the kid after learning that Long Jinjing went shopping for him because he wanted to be surprised. Lu Zihao inwardly sighed at his carelessness.
“Which is the one you chose for me?” he asked.
She held one of the belts to him. He took it and ripped the tag off. Then he stood up and unbuckled the leather belt that he was wearing before tossing it on the coffee table. Then he put on the new leather belt that she bought for him.
“Perfect fit,” he commented.
“You like it?”
“Hm.”
She batted her eyelashes at him and smiled, looking pleased. However, she once again felt guilty upon seeing the other belt that was still in her hands. Lu Zihao snatched it and headed to the kitchen. He was about to dump the damn belt into the trash can but she yelped behind him and rushed forward to take it from him. He didn’t let go.
“Why are you stopping me?” He narrowed his eyes at her.
“It’s still new. Throwing it away is a big waste. I’ll just return it to the store to get my money back.”
“I’ll just pay you its price.”
She smacked his chest and walked away in an angry huff. Then she stopped, turned to face him and spat, “I don’t need your money!”
